Sometimes relocating to another state has it’s advantages.  Seven years ago, we moved from my home state of Alabama to Maryland.  Although, I knew that Maryland was all about crab cakes(rightfully so!), I knew nothing about Peruvian Chicken.  They have Peruvian Chicken places here like we have Church’s Chicken in Birmingham.  They all serve this incredibly seasoned, crisp on the outside, juicy on the inside chicken.  It’s served with a delicious green sauce…I later found out that this runny sauce is some form of guacamole.  I’ve played around with spices and juices until I have achieved the closest thing to what I get at these shops.  As for the runny guacamole, I bought some avocado salsa and called it a day!

The key to flavor is marinating your chicken for at least overnight before grilling.  You can use chicken pieces or buy a whole chicken and have your grocer’s meat market cut it in half for you.

On a pet peeve side note…
There was a trainee in my grocer’s meat market and he dodged me and avoided eye contact with me when he saw me with the chicken.  He knew that I wanted it cut in half.  He won, and I went home with a whole chicken that I had to cut.  Should have waited him out 🙂   I hate to cut chicken!

Let all of this seasoning and the ziploc bag do all of the work!

Peruvian Grilled Chicken
Serves 4

1 whole chicken(about 3 1/2 pounds), cut in half
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
Juice from 1 whole lime
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon hot paprika
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

**Served grilled chicken with guacamole

Place all ingredients, except chicken in a gallon size ziploc bag.  Zip and shake bag to mix marinade.  Add chicken to bag and release excess air before sealing bag.  Place in a shallow dish and refrigerate at least 6 hours before grilling.  It’s best if you start the marination process the night before cooking on the next day.

If using a charcoal grill, allow coals to burn white hot.  Discard marinade and cook chicken for about 1 hour & 15 minutes, turning often throughout grilling process.  Use a meat thermometer, when it registers 165 degrees at thigh meat, the chicken is done.

**If using an oven, preheat to 425 degrees, discard marinade and cook chicken skin side up in a roasting pan for 45-50 minutes.